NPC Hailing/fleet interaction

[TheKingOfSpace]

So, you'd be able to 'hail' NPC fleets and chat with them. You'd also have a few special options by asking them things:

Trade Guild fleets would come bearing news of trade routes and shops; They'd tell you where a random shop is and if they found a good deal (low or high prices) on something there.
This would be a good mechanic for driving business to player shops without forcing anyone to go there.

Pirate fleets would be too busy murdering you to stop and chat; but you could 'bribe' them to go away.
After receiving a not-insignificant bribe, all ships in the area immediately jump out and vanish into the void.
Some fleets will refuse bribes and laugh at you instead, such as station defense fleets, or those set by admin to refuse.

 

[FatCobra]

This could also lead to bounties being placed on other NPC factions for reward. Trade guild vs pirate or what ever other factions the devs come up with. This would open up many possibilities for going in depth to faction/race stories etc.

 

[Rixxan]

Bounties. That's what comes to my mind. I'd also like to be able to contact others in the universe, it's so lonely without them. Have secure subspace messages to far away faction bases or shops or players for drop messages or such and have instant hails for close range communication.

 

[Zaphord]

Bribes remind me of a mechanic in one of my favorite games, Jets N' Guns.

Capture a wanted pirate, assuming you have your bounty hunter license, and you can either turn them in for the bounty or take a bribe and let them go. Trouble with the bribe was it was random, you might wind up getting less than the bounty if you let them go.

Anyway, back on topic.

You could also receive hails from npc fleets, like a distress signal from a tg fleet under attack. The pirates might also hail you asking for a payoff, as to wether or not they leave you alone after they take the cash is up to them really.

 

[FatCobra]

Looks like we'll need some sort of "police" force to hunt down the bounty hunters that take bribes, or people that extort NPC factions.

 

[EMC007]

Maybe there could be a room on stations where there are contracts for you to take to do for money or discounts or something on pirate, trade guild, etc factions.

With a bribe of course to land in pirate bases.

 

[Zaphord]

Looks like we'll need some sort of "police" force to hunt down the bounty hunters that take bribes, or people that extort NPC factions.

Now that wouldn't be too hard to do at all in game. Clone the Pirate faction, set them allied to neutral, hostile to pirates, and have them go hostile on anything that attacks them or their allies, and voiala! Instant law enforcement!

 

[Rixxan]

Just make their colors blue and red.